Brewster 1

Megan Brewster

Professor Ward

English 200

27 March 2018

Rhetorical Analysis 2

In the paper “A Greener Approach to Groceries: Community-Based Agriculture in

LaSalle Square” the author Nancy Paul discusses how the community could improve reliable

food resources. Her thesis states “Abandoned by corporate supermarkets, millions of Americans

are maimed by a ‘food insecurity’ – the nutritional poverty that cripples them developmentally,

physically, and psychologically” (Paul 1). This shows that she understand the problems people

in the community are facing regarding food insecurity. She also calls attention to the fact that

“corporate supermarkets” have abandoned the area when she says both Target and Kroger have

moved to other parts of the town because “they do not mix well with low-income, high-crime

populations” (Paul 2).

In her paper she makes many well research claims and provides examples of how the

problem could be resolved. She uses a combination of logos, ethos, and pathos to persuade her

audience of other students and community members to take action against food insecurity and

also claims of fact and policy. She ensures that each claim she makes is backed up by researched

evidence from professionals and other scholars.

The first example of this is also one that shows her use of logos, when she says “For them

[low-income families], it is economically irresponsible to spend the extra money to get to the
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supermarket, and so they feed their families on the cheap soda, chips, and processed food that are

readily available at the convenience store” (Paul 3). If she were to just make this statement it

could be easily dismissed. However, when she adds in “high-calorie, low-nutrient, packaged

food tends to be denser, urban mothers find that it helps their children feel full (Garnett).” It

shows that there is research to back her claim. She also paraphrases two studies that give this

claim more reliability. The first was she cites from Smith that talks about how by the age of

three more than 33% of children are obese because of the low-quality food they eat (Paul 3).

The second is from Brown and Carter which states that only 19 percent of urban stores offer the

healthy food array suggested by the FDA (Paul 3).

Paul also builds off of each argument she makes to again make the paper strong instead

of jumping from claim to claim. For example after talking about how low-income families tend

to feed their children less nutritious foods she continues that topic by talking about how after

doing research on the diets of the poor they found severe consequences in relation to the lack of

nutrients they receive (Paul 3). She also continues on to talk about how the human body cannot

live off of “simple sugars and processed carbohydrates” (Paul 3.)

Paul’s entire paper has a pathos feel to it because it makes the reader think about how it

feels to not have access to the healthy foods we need to survive. She gives readers who do not

have these struggles a look into what food insecurity is and how it effects families and each

individual’s body. This pathos feel gives her argument another layer of depth which allows for

her to connect with the audience and show that she understands the issues and wants to work

toward a solution. An excellent example of how Paul uses pathos is when she states:

In light of these severe consequences of undernutrition, the term “food insecurity”

encapsulates the condition wherein the economically disadvantaged are vulnerable

simply because their bodies are unable to receive adequate fuel for optimal functioning.

Just as one cannot expect a dry, parched plant to bloom and pollinate a garden, by

constraining the development of individuals, food insecurity also constrains the

development of the neighborhoods in which the individuals contribute. For the health of

a city and its communities, all roadblocks to progress must be removed, and food

insecurity must be cut out at its roots so that individuals have the resources for

advancement. (Paul 4)

Throughout this paragraph she is really able to touch on the emotional side of the

argument. She uses the metaphor about the plant to perfectly describe how undernourished

people cannot be expected to thrive if they are not receiving the proper foods and nutrients to

fuel their bodies. She also uses a claim of policy when she talks about how all road blocks must

be removed and “food insecurity needs to be cut out at its roots” if we expect any advancement

within individuals, families, communities, or cities (Paul 4).

She goes on to suggest options for how to solve the issue of food insecurity. The first,

which she describes as the “easiest solution”, being to introduce a supermarket to the area. She

again touches on her previous comment of how supermarkets do not mix well with low-income

areas but she now suggests a fix to that dilemma (Paul 3). Her idea is to follow other cities and

use the Tax Increment Financing option to encourage supermarkets to invest in these poor urban

areas (Paul 5). This would help redevelop the area and in turn give the supermarket better and

higher revenue (Paul 5). Although she also touches on the possibility of the supermarket to

abandon the community once TIF benefit expire (Paul 5). She uses claims of fact and logos to

support her argument on how this could benefit the community but also how and why it could

not work.
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Next she introduces the grassroots effort option which seems to be the option she favors.

This would involve the communities and cities to plant community gardens to “farm the food

desert” (Paul 6). She states that:

“The city of South Bend, uniquely situated in the breadbasket of the United

States, is in the perfect position to launch a ‘greening’ effort, modeled after the success in

other parts of the world, which would both solve the problem of food insecurity of

LaSalle Square and invigorate the community” (Paul 6).

She does intense research to provide the audience with information and examples of this

option. She explains in great detail where she thinks would be a good place, why it would help

not only end food insecurity but also the community as a whole, and why South Bend is a better

place to do this than most other cities. She utilizes studies and statistics to back her claims just

as she has done in every other argument throughout the paper.

Paul’s entire paper makes clear, strong, and persuasive arguments as to why ending food

insecurity is so important and how the community could go about doing it. Her paper is set up

perfectly so each argument and claim flows into the next without being choppy. She made sure

each claim she made was backed up by multiple studies, facts, and/or statistics done by

professionals and scholars on the topic. She made sure her paper allowed for continuation of the

conversation on food insecurity and also made sure not to insert her personal opinion into her

paper.
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Works Cited

Paul, Nancy. “Greener Approach to Groceries.” From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and

Reader, 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martin's, 2016, pp. 234–246.